Underweight Gray Tree Frog, Advice Wanted

[deniserothfus]

Uva and uvb one of the lights is needed for digestion and the other is so the body can absorb the nutrients I go by what my vet says always. Never hesitate to call an exotics doc to really get the answers . I'm not an expert so anything I chime in on is from an experience I've been through and my vet.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[HazelCat]

Alright, thanks again

[teslas intern]

Actually, I think the general consensus is nocturnal frogs don't need UV lighting at all... I don't use it and have no problems with greys and whites. But you need not worry about the small (sickly) flies, they are just babies! If you feed him a bunch of them he'll fasten back up in a few days (I'm raising some grays from tads myself right now, and had the same issue as you, ran out of flies). Flies are impossible to gut load, but you can make a new culture out of real fruit if you like. The important thing is to dust them as often as possible with calcium, and once in a while with vitamins. Don't use the vitamins every time or the fat solubles can build up to toxic levels... Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[HazelCat]

Thanks for the help! It would make sense that the smaller flies are just the young ones, I have a tenancy to panic about nothing haha... But I got him some new flies yesterday, and he has seemed to already gain weight over night, and acts more energetic. I also plan on ordering him some phoenix worms when the weather gets a bit cooler... thanks again!

[LilyPad]

You may have just been at the end of your culture My greys did not digets phoenix worms well, they came out the other end, all whole, and some alive. My darts haven't had a problem with them, but I will not use them again for the greys. If you want to look into alternative feeders, try to convince him to eat chopped up nightcrawlers. Otherwise, dusted fruit flies are sufficient until he's big enough for crickets

I do not use uv lighting for my greys, but it is important to make sure that he gets proper supplements then. I use repcal+ vitamin D. http://www.amazon.com/Rep-Cal-Reptil.../dp/B00061UWJM It's important to replace your supplements every 6 months so they do not expire.

[HazelCat]

Huh, interesting about them not digesting the phoenix worms well, I will have to be on the watch for that... Can always try and feed them to other things if there's issues. I am finding it's somewhat difficult to give him a nice variety in his diet with him being so small, but I guess that's not too big of a deal, as long as he gets enough nutrients... Very new to this, so I tend to worry easily, always afraid I am doing something wrong...

[Crunchy Frog]

Thanks for the help! It would make sense that the smaller flies are just the young ones, I have a tenancy to panic about nothing haha... But I got him some new flies yesterday, and he has seemed to already gain weight over night, and acts more energetic. I also plan on ordering him some phoenix worms when the weather gets a bit cooler... thanks again!

My grays didn't handle Phoenix worms at all. All of them passed through undigested, and one of them passed through still alive.

Other people here seem to have had similar experiences.

[HazelCat]

Yeah, I will just have to see how they do... if they end up not working well I can always try and feed them to my toads or something.

[kueluck]

If feeding phoenix worms poke them with a pin first, and I always crush the head on butter, horn & waxworms just to ensure they don't come out the other end whole. I've had phoenix worms come out whole on my Fowlers & Southern toads. They are more for lizards that have teeth and chew their food.

Yeah, I will just have to see how they do... if they end up not working well I can always try and feed them to my toads or something.